Killer of MP Sir David Amess was ‘exited’ from Prevent ‘too quickly’, review finds
The man who killed MP Sir David Amess was released from the Prevent anti-terror programme “too quickly”, a review has found.
Sir David was stabbed to death by Islamic State (ISIS) supporter Ali Harbi Ali during a constituency surgery at a church hall in Leigh-on-Sea in October 2021.
The killer, who was given a whole-life sentence, had become radicalised by ISIS propaganda and had been referred to the anti-terror programme Prevent before the attack, but his case had been closed five years before.
Despite Prevent policy and guidance at the time being “mostly followed”, his case was “exited too quickly”, security minister Dan Jarvis told the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Following the publication of a review into Prevent’s handling of Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana earlier this month, Mr Jarvis said a Prevent learning review into Sir David’s killing would be released this week in a commitment to transparency over the anti-terror programme.
Matt Juke, head of counter-terrorism policing, said it is clear the management and handling of Ali’s case by Prevent “should have been better” and it is “critical” the review is acted on “so that other families are spared the pain felt by the loved ones of Sir David”.
Ali Harbi Ali was referred to Prevent twice before he stabbed Sir David to death. Pic: Met Police
The review found:
• Ali was referred to Prevent in 2014 by his school after teachers said his demeanour, appearance and behaviour changed from a previously “engaging student with a bright future” with aspirations to be a doctor to failing his A-levels and wanting to move to a “more Islamic state because he could no longer live among unbelievers”
• Prevent quickly took his case on and he was referred to Channel, part of the programme that aims to prevent involvement in extremism
• He was “exited from Prevent too quickly”, Mr Jarvis said, just five months later “after his terrorism risk was assessed as low”
• A review by police 12 months after he was released from Prevent “also found no terrorism concerns” and the case was closed. This was not uploaded for eight more months due to an “IT issue”
• People released from Prevent are meant to have a review at six and 12 months
• The assessment of Ali’s vulnerabilities “was problematic and outdated” as it did not follow the proper procedure, which led to “questionable decision-making and sub-optimal handling of the case”
• Ali’s symptoms were prioritised over addressing the underlying causes of his vulnerabilities – and support provided did not tackle those issues
• Record keeping of decisions, actions and rationale was “problematic, disjointed and lacked clarity”
• The rationale for certain decisions was “not explicit”
• Ali’s school was not involved in discussions to help determine risk and appropriate support – they were only called once to be told the “matter was being dealt with”
• A miscommunication led to only one intervention session being provided, instead of two.
Read more:
Sir David Amess’ daughter taking legal action
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Is the Prevent programme fit for purpose?
The review found most of the failures in Ali’s case would not be repeated today as the guidance and requirements are much clearer.
It said referrers, in Ali’s case his school, are kept informed and engaged, different departments and agencies – not just police – have clear roles, which records need to be kept is clear and guidance for detecting underlying vulnerabilities has changed and would have made a difference.
The review said a Prevent “intervention provider” met Ali at a McDonald’s to deal with his understanding of “haram” (forbidden under Islamic law). No risk assessment was made but they suggested one more meeting, however a breakdown in communication between police and the provider meant there were no more meetings.
Training for providers is “substantially different” now and the review says this would not be repeated today, with the provider in question saying the process is “a completely different one today”.
However, the review said there are still problems – not just in Ali’s case – with the Vulnerability Assessment Form, an “incredibly complex document that is vital to Channel” and the progression of a case.
It also found a decision by the College of Police to only hold Prevent case data for five years “may prove to be problematic” and if Ali’s case material had been deleted under that ruling “it would have been nigh on impossible to conduct this review.
Sir David’s daughter, Katie Amess, 39, last week welcomed the announcement to publish a review into Ali’s case but said every victim failed by Prevent deserves an inquiry, not just the Southport victims.
“We potentially wouldn’t be in the same situation today with repeat failings of Prevent had somebody had just listened to me back when it [her father’s killing] happened and launched a full public inquiry,” she told LBC.
Ms Amess said she believes if the Southport attack had not happened, the review into Prevent’s handling of her father’s killer would never have been released into the public domain.
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Taiwanese lawmaker Ko Ju-Chun has called on the government to consider adding Bitcoin to its national reserves, suggesting it could serve as a hedge against global economic uncertainty.
Ko, a legislator at-large in Taiwan’s legislative body, the Legislative Yuan, took to X on Friday to report that he had advocated Bitcoin (BTC) investment by the Taiwanese government at the National Conference on May 9.
In his remarks, Ko cited Bitcoin’s potential to become a hedge amid global economic risks and urged Taiwan to recognize the cryptocurrency alongside gold and foreign exchange reserves to boost its financial resilience.
Ko’s announcement came shortly after the legislator held talks with Samson Mow, who advocates for Bitcoin adoption by states like El Salvador at his BTC tech firm Jan3.
Taiwan is an export-oriented economy
Ko highlighted that Taiwan is an export-driven economy that has experienced significant fluctuations in its national currency, the New Taiwan dollar, amid global inflation and intensifying geopolitical risks.
“We currently have a gold reserve of 423 metric tons, and our foreign exchange reserves amount to $577 billion, including investments in US Treasury bonds,” the lawmaker stated.
In a scenario of more intense currency volatility or potential regional conflicts, Taiwan may “very likely be unable to ensure the security and liquidity,” Ko continued, adding that Bitcoin could be a great addition to Taiwan’s reserves for several reasons.
“Bitcoin has been operating for over 15 years. It has a fixed total supply, is decentralized, and is resistant to censorship. Many countries are focusing on its hedging attributes. At the same time, in intense situations, it may not face the risk of embargo,” he said.
Bitcoin is not the only solution
Referring to many global initiatives considering Bitcoin adoption as a reserve asset, Ko stressed that he’s not advocating for Bitcoin as the “only solution” to rising economic challenges.
Instead, the legislator suggested adding a “small proportion of Bitcoin” into the diversified assets as tools for sovereign asset allocation and risk hedging, and backup capacity of Taiwan’s financial system.
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He previously suggested that Taiwan could allocate a maximum of 5% of its $50 billion reserve to Bitcoin in an X post on May 6.
“When exchange rate risk and regional uncertainty increase, it is time to introduce new tools to construct a more flexible financial strategy framework,” Ko said, adding:
“As former Dean Chen Chong said, Bitcoin is the gun of the digital era. It may also be the gold of the digital era, the silver of the digital era. Or it could be gunpowder. A wise nation will not let weapons be in others’ hands.”
The news comes as Taiwan is emerging as a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, with the Financial Supervisory Commission pushing institutional trials of crypto custody services in late 2024.
Mainland China continues to maintain its hostile stance on cryptocurrency after imposing a ban on multiple crypto activities, including mining, in 2021.
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German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’s office, involved multiple crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). The move marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA’s history.
The authorities also seized eXch’s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
eXch exchanged crypto without AML
In the statement, the BKA described eXch as a “swapping” service that allowed users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, some of which were believed to be of “criminal origin,” including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
“Among other things, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit crypto exchange, which was hacked on Feb. 21, 2025, is said to have been exchanged via eXch,” the authorities wrote.
Multisig, FixedFloat among laundering cases
According to a post by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, eXch was also involved in laundering millions of funds from other crypto thefts and exploits, including Multisig, FixedFloat and the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.
Those were in addition to “countless phishing drainer services over the past few years with refusal to block addresses and freeze orders,” ZachXBT said.
ZachXBT was among the first security analysts to report on eXch’s links to laundering $35 million of crypto assets stolen from Bybit soon after the hack was confirmed.
Related: Hacken CEO sees ‘no shift’ in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M
“Lazarus Group transferred 5K ETH from the Bybit Hack to a new address and began laundering funds via eXch (a centralized mixer) and bridging funds to Bitcoin via Chainflip,” ZachXBT wrote in a Telegram post on Feb. 22.
eXch announced termination of services by May 1
After initially denying involvement in laundering funds from the Bybit hack, eXch eventually announced it would cease operations by May 1 in a Bitcoin Talk post published in mid-April.
“Even though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut down our infrastructure […], we don’t see any point in operating in a hostile environment where we are the target of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] simply because some people misinterpret our goals,” it wrote.
Addressing the seizure, senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause stressed the importance of action against “quick and anonymous opportunities for money laundering for any amount.”
“Crypto swapping is an essential component of the underground economy, used to conceal incriminated funds from illegal activities such as hacking or trading in stolen payment card data, thus making them available to perpetrators,” he said.
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